Deathwatch
by Gandalf3213
Summary: A member of the group is attacked by a rattlesnake. Now each Dtent boy is living through their own nightmare as they wait through the night for the medicine to arrive.
1. Family

**A/N: I read Holes a while ago, I recently read the book and I just saw the movie, so I'm hooked now. All the characters I use were in Holes, and I don't own the story**

Zigzag was tired. Much too tired. _It must be a Thursday. _He thought sullenly. _Nothing good happens on Thursdays._

Another hole. That's what he was standing in at noon. Another mostly-dug hole surrounded by other mostly-dug holes that the mostly-spent kids were currently digging. He wiped his hand across his forehead, leaving a trial of dirt over the sweat as he reluctantly picked up his shovel again.

More shovels full of dirt tossed out of the hole. It was a little larger now. Nowhere near large enough. He gazed longingly at his canteen, his cracked lips aching for a drop of water. But he only had a few sips left, and he knew enough to wait for the water truck to come by before drinking the last precious drops.

Calls from the other boys. A hand landing on his shoulder sending him into spasms. It must be Caveman. He was the only one who forgot now. Everyone else knew not to tutch Zigzag.

He grabbed the sandwich, taking more then one graham cracker. Zigzag filled his canteen to the brim and took a long sip of the refreshing water. He was a little more then two-thirds of the way done with his hole. He could afford a few drinks at lunch.

"Dude, look, a cloud!" Magnet pointed at the small puffball hovering just over the distant mountains.

X-Ray pushed up his useless glasses. "That's just a wannabe. It's not going to rain on us or anything."

Squid shoved him. "Stop being so down. We can still hope for shade!" He looked at the cloud as he said this, as if pleading.

Zigzag looked at Squid and nodded. If there was anything he liked about this camp, it was meeting Squid. He was the first real friend he'd had. He was the first one to decide he wasn't _that_ crazy. The first one to put the differences aside. The other guys were great...Magnet...Armpit...X-Ray...even Zero and Caveman. They made up the first functional family Zigzag had been in.

He reluctantly jumped back into his hole, shoving the rest of the sandwich into his mouth as he started to move the larger rocks out of the way. It wasn't really that far to go. Just another foot on the sides and a little more then that down.

He had just picked up his shovel and stuck it into the dirt when he heard the scream. He knew that scream. It meant pain. He'd heard it at home. He'd heard it with Barf Bag.

Zigzag jumped out of his hole to see who it was who was hurt, praying it wasn't a Yellow-Spotted Lizard.

It wasn't a lizard. Zigzag barely saw a snake slithering out of sight as he ran towards the group of boys already centered around somebody.

Zigzag turned away as he saw who lay in the central of the group. Squid's loud cries had subsided to whimpers now, but Zigzag knew he'd always hear that scream in his head.

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	2. What if he dies?

**I own it not.**

X-Ray was the first to gain his senses. Ripping his eyes away from Squid who was writhing on the ground he started running, yelling wildly. "Mom! Mr. Sir! Mom!" He saw the water truck turn around and start heading back his way. X-Ray waved his arms wildly, still yelling at the top of his voice. He started gibbering as Mr. Pendanski got out, directing him towards Squid.

"There was this snake and Squid got bitten and it looks like there's going to be trouble..." he kept going, the normally composed X-Ray gone, taken by this scared, confused look-alike.

Mr. Pendanski's eyebrows came together and he frowned. "This is bad, boys. Stanley, Rex, get him into the car." He wiped his hand over his forehead, looking nervous.

"What's wrong?" Armpit asked tentatively. "I mean, it's only a rattlesnake. You can cur those. It's not like it was a lizard or nothing."

Mr. Pendanski's eyes flicked to Armpit. He sighed, looking at the truck that Squid was being loaded into. "Usually we treat the victim of snake bite here. They have to be administered the antidote within twelve hours or they die. We did that with Lewis."

"So what's the big deal?" X-Ray asked, coming back to them. "Just give him the stupid antidote and he'll be fine." The old X-Ray had returned. He was in charge again.

"And normally we would." Mr. Pendanski assured the boy. "But after Lewis got bitten we never got another case of antidote. We ordered one but it never got here."

An eruption of sound came from all around him and Mr. Pendanski held up his hands, shouting over the noise. "I'll call a hospital boys, but I don't know if we can get someone out here in time." He turned away, acutely aware of six boys' eyes on his back. "Keep digging." He reminded them over his shoulder.

"What do we do?" Magnet asked nervously, looking at X-Ray after the truck with Squid in it drove away.

X-Ray jumped into his hole and started digging feverishly. "Hurry up with your holes. Zero, help Caveman since you're almost done. The sooner we finish the sooner we get with Squid." He scooped the dirt out of his hole, thankful that the barrier kept the guys from seeing his tears.

_What would happen if Squid dies?_ X-Ray asked himself. He let the thought linger for only a second before pushing it away. _He's not going to._ He told himself furiously. _He can't. We're so close_.

Above X-Ray, Armpit was about to jump into his own hole when he noticed Zigzag just sitting on the ground, muttering. He knelt down next to him, close enough to here the words repeated over and over. "Oh no...oh no...oh no...oh no..."

Armpit lifted Zigzag to his feet, muttering to him in a low, steady voice. "Listen man, I know it must be rough right now, but just another half-hour of digging and I bet you'll be done." He glanced at Zigzag's hole, noticing that it was quite deep. "Then we'll go see Squid."

Zigzag seemed to crumple under Armpit's words. "What if he dies Armpit?"

Armpit steered Zigzag to his hole, putting the shovel into his hands. "I swear to you that he won't die. We won't let him."

Armpit walked away, hearing the crunch of a shovel being thrust into the earth. He tried to smile as he passed Magnet but couldn't manage it. Tears were coming to his eyes. He wiped them away impatiently. _You have no reason to cry_. He chided himself. _You're not the one dying_.

He jumped into his hole and started lifting the dirt. He was going to finish this hole, then he was going to kill Squid for ripping them all apart.

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	3. Magnet

**I don't own Holes. Sorry.**

_I like animals_

Magnet was the first one done, with Zero helping Caveman. He slung the shovel over his shoulders, barely even noticing the humid air and his cramped muscles. All he could think of was Squid, dead, in a box, being lowered to the ground.

Magnet knew a lot of people. Four had died. Four lives wasted, taken away before their time. Magnet sped up, as if putting distance between himself and the memories. When he opened the door to D-tent, however, the memories came rushing back.

Squid was lying on his bed, his breathing ragged and unsteady, his eyes glazed. Magnet rushed over, wishing for a strange second that he was Zigzag. He knew that Squid would want to see his best friend first.

Magnet unerringly put his hand into Squid's squeezing it. Tears blocked his eyes. He thought that getting out of the city would leave the pain behind, and the death. The guilt. Now he realized that Squid could die. The thought forced a strangled sob out.

Four people had died. Four teenagers. One was his older brother, his idol, his protector. Juan had been smart, tough, cool, everything Magnet wanted to become. Nobody messed with Juan, and Juan seemed to care about nothing.

Except Magnet.

Since he was born, Magnet had been in love with animals. All he wanted was to own a dog. It was impossible. His brother was a high school drop out to support Magnet and his younger sister, even though their mother worked three jobs. Even then they barely scraped by. But Juan knew that that was all Magnet wanted, so he gave him a dog.

And the next day he was shot by two cops when he shoplifted dog food. Such a stupid thing to die for.

His death had ripped Magnet's world apart.

Now Magnet sat gripping Squid's hand, and he prayed for the first time since Juan died. He prayed that Squid would live, because he didn't want another family to fall apart. He couldn't be able to take it.

More memories burst past Magnet's defenses. The other three deaths. All friends of either his or Juan's. None of them had reached eighteen. Kids forced to become thieves or worse because they'd die if they didn't.

Magnet was crying now, keeling next to Squid's hard cot. He wiped the tears away impatiently. He was okay. He was alive. He shouldn't be crying.

He squeezed Squid's hand again and thought that maybe...maybe...Squid squeezed back.

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	4. Zero

**I don't own them.**

_I'm not stupid. I just don't like answering stupid questions._

Zero helped Stanley with most of his hole before heading back, not too long after Magnet left. His mind, forever wandering, jumped to all sorts of possible outcomes.

Tomorrow, so much could be different. The scenarios ran through his mind, faster than Zero could keep track of them. Tomorrow, Squid could be dead. Dead. And everyone would be different. Zigzag wouldn't smile that crazy smile anymore, and Armpit wouldn't dance for fun. X-Ray would be surly and cold. Zero quickly pushed the thoughts away.

Or tomorrow they could be back to digging holes like nothing happened, each of them secretly helping Squid with his.

Or Squid could be dead.

The thoughts battled each other on the way back to D-tent. He threw his shovel in the small pile and walked in, making almost no noise. "Hey Magnet." He said, his voice sounding loud in the silent room.

Magnet jumped and coward. His hand had been holding on to Squid's. He let it go now. "Hey Zero, I didn't know you could talk." This accusation came out soft and gentle, and Magnet smiled when he said it. Zero smiled back.

"It's a special occasion." He sat down on Zigzag's bed, which was closest to Squid's. "Anything yet?" he asked, noticing that Magnet's hand had slipped back into Squid's.

The shake of Magnet's head brought back all the fears that Zero had been contemplating. "But that doesn't mean anything!" Magnet said, seeing the younger boy's expression. "I mean, he can fight this." He squeezed Squid's hand, muttering, more to himself than anything. "He can fight this."

Zero wasn't listening anymore. Fight. It was a word that brought up so much in his past. Suddenly D-tent was gone, and he was younger, cold, on the streets.

Two boys. Oscar and Jack. Two brothers that hated his guts more than anything in the world. They lived on the streets too, making Zero's life a nightmare.

It was them who first called him Zero, along with many, many other things. They'd called him worthless, and he'd believed it, the eight-year-old he was. Oscar and Jack would often 'rough him up'. "We're helping you!" They'd insist. "You gotta know how to survive on these streets."

A scream brought Zero out of his memories, whisking away the city streets and horrible faces. "What is it?" he asked urgently. Magnet had turned around, his hand slipping out of Squid's limp one.

At the door of the tent stood Zigzag, his eyes wide, his chest heaving like he'd run all the way there. His eyes stared right through Magnet and Zero, focusing instead on Squid's pale face, his limp arms, his ragged breathing.

And, Zero blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining this. As Zigzag stood there, he was crying.

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	5. Zigzag

**I don't own them**

_I read his file. He suffers from 'acute paranoia' or something._

Zigzag backed out of the tent, his breaths coming in short, quick gasps. This couldn't be happening. No, it wasn't happening. It wasn't.

He subconsciously curled into a ball on the steps, his hands raising up over his face as he rocked gently, trying to block out the images in his mind. Of Squid, pale, his breathing hard and labored, of him sitting in a casket, eyes open and pleading, wanting Zigzag to help him when he could do nothing. Another image burst through, Squid laughing, other members of D-tent around him. Squid alive.

"Get up. Ziggy, come on man."

Only Squid called him Ziggy. Zigzag opened his eye a fraction of an inch. Could it be Squid talking to him now? He only saw Magnet and Zero, both looking terrified. He curled back up, once again seeing Squid dead, but this time he was surrounded by all the other people in D-tent, all cold, all dead, all with pleading eyes to save them.

"He needs you, Zig, come on. Go to him."

Squid only turned over at the sound of Magnet's accented voice. He didn't care anymore. He didn't care. Tears squeezed through his eyes. He did care. He cared so much. He cared more about the people in this tent than he ever had about anyone, and that scared him.

A strong hand descended on his shoulder. A deep voice cut through the cacophony of sounds that had been coming at Zigzag nonstop. Zigzag relaxed a little but didn't open his eyes. "Armpit?"

With uncharacteristic gentleness, Armpit kneeled down and deftly picked up Zigzag, holding him as easily as a baby. "Yeah, don't worry, you'll be okay."

"Squid?"

The soothing voice reassured him again, "Yeah, Squid will be okay, too. Don't worry."

The image of Squid dead faded a little, but Zigzag was still curled up, protective of his head even while laying in Armpit's arms. Tears squeezed out of his eyes, like they had that day, nearly ten years ago.

_Zigzag hadn't always been high strung. Kids hadn't always called him crazy or worse. But from the day he was born he had it 'tough' at home. Political speak for 'his father beat the stuffing out of him every day'. _

_Until the day when Zigzag was six. He had been hiding behind a couch while his father stormed about something or other at his mother. He had been holding his ears, rocking backward and forward, crying. But even holding his ears he heard the terrible slap, the sickening crunch._

_He heard his mother fall down, he heard her die. He never forgot it. And nine years later when he was sent to camp for causing a (relatively) small fire, he didn't forget it either. You don't usually forget your mother dying._

Zigzag didn't know why he thought that now. He gently uncurled, slipping out of Armpit's grasp. He marveled at how Armpit even held him. Zigzag was a full four inches taller, though admittedly very thin. His breathing, though erratic, had returned to normal. The tears were still dripping down his cheeks. He didn't care.

Without looking at any of the other boys, he knelt beside Squid's bed, grasping his hand tightly. He muttered, in a voice he made sure only Squid could hear. "C'mon Squid. Pull through this. We need you." He gulped, a strangled sob escaping his throat. "I need you."

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	6. Armpit

**I don't own Holes. Sorry.**

_Can you tell her I'm sorry? Tell her Theodore said sorry._

Armpit bit his lip. He needed X-Ray here. Now. Because he couldn't keep watch of Magnet and Zero, who were huddled in the corner, looking at Squid with huge eyes. He couldn't soothe Zigzag, who was kneeling next to Squid, crying. And he couldn't cure Squid. He couldn't.

Armpit sat down, held his head in his hands. This was so much, too much. Squid had been here at the beginning after all. It had been Squid, Armpit, and X-Ray along with four older boys. The three of them had helped each other for that horrible month when the older boys had wanted to kill them, the Warden had wanted to kill them and Mr. Sir, who had just decided to quit smoking, wanted to kill them.

And back then, X-Ray had still been the leader, yeah, but Squid had been the comic-relief, a quiet kid with a sharp mouth. He kept the other two rolling on the ground at their own troubles, laughing in the face of danger.

Armpit looked up when the tent flap opened again. X-Ray. He quickly glanced around, taking a mental head-count. It was obvious to Armpit that X-Ray was trying to remain composed in front of the others, but he could see that the shorter boy's eyes were wet.

It was odd, Armpit realized, that one thing had brought on so much grief. If Squid hadn't been bit they wouldn't be in the tent, they'd all be split up, maybe in the common room playing pool with only seven balls or watching a busted TV.

Armpit watched as X-Ray kneeled next to Zigzag and just heard the words he was saying to him.

"Zigzag? You okay, man? We're here for you, you know. It'll be okay."

X-Ray's voice was calm and comforting, as if he believed every word that was coming out of his own mouth. His words reminded Armpit of a time, long ago.

_Armpit had an older brother. Tom wasn't exactly their parent's prodigy child, wanting to blow up a gas station rather than go to school. But Tom did love Armpit. And Armpit adored Tom._

_When he was younger Armpit had had terrible nightmares. Tom would often climb into bed with him, try to comfort him, quietly reminding Armpit that he was alright, that he nothing would happen to him as long as Tom was around._

_And Armpit had believed him, ten-year-old that he was. He had believed that Tom would always be there to help him. At least until Tom went to prison for drugs. Then Armpit stopped believing in things and people. But even when Tom was in prison Armpit loved him. He just didn't love anyone else._

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	7. XRay

_**I own it not.**_

_It's like Mr. Sir says, we're digging to build some character._

X-Ray wanted to cry. He hadn't felt like this for years. But he looked around and realized that his family was dying, crumbling all around him, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

He knew that he should be able to. He was the leader, undisputed and unquestioned. He was supposed to keep them safe. He'd failed once already, with Barf bag. Squid was closer, though. Too important to him, to all of them.

_X-Ray hadn't wanted to be leader. The youngest in a family of five, he was often picked on for his size.__ He made few friends, and held the entire human race as an ugly, violent species. Except for Camp Green Lake, he had never done any real work, looking for the easy way out every time._

_That was what bit him in the end. Selling bits of parsley as cocaine wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done. And it landed him suddenly into an unwilling position of leadership. _

X-Ray sat in a corner away from everyone else, keeping one eye on Squid, who was tossing under the thin sheet, sweat pouring down his face. His skin was cold to the touch. His body was trying to fight the poison. Magnet said his fever was peaking. It was at a hundred and three degrees. X-Ray didn't know how Magnet knew this, but he was sure it was correct.

With his other eye, X-Ray watched his small band. Through his foggy glasses he could make out Zero shaking in a corner, huddled with his knees pushed up to his chin. Magnet was kneeling next to him, murmuring comfortingly to Zero in Spanish which X-Ray knew he didn't understand. Since Magnet had landed in D-tent, he only spoke Spanish a handful of times, whenever there were stressful moments. Now he couldn't seem to remember English at all.

Armpit had one hand on ZigZag, but he himself was staring at X-Ray. X-Ray looked away, biting his lip. Armpit was the closest thing he'd had to a friend in this place. In the beginning, when his position hadn't been as undisputed and arguments usually turned into a wrestling match Armpit would wedge himself between X-Ray and his attacker, taking the punch before flooring the guy. When asked why he did this, he merely said, "We're in the same tent, right? Kind of like a family in a way. Have to stick together."

And right now Armpit's penetrating stare seemed to push right into X-Ray's brain, feeling his emotions. Armpit nodded slightly, turning back to ZigZag.

Zig was...he was a mess. Hair sticking up like he'd just stuck his finger into a socket, ears sticking too far out. He was covered in dirt, as was all of them. No one had bothered taking a shower, choosing instead to be with Squid.

ZigZag's friendship with Squid had always been a mystery. One was loud and erratic, the other quiet and smoldering. One seemed constantly full of energy, the other lethargic. But they talked to each other, and in a place like Green Lake, even that was a lot.

X-Ray heard the bell ring for dinner. No one got up. The only one that even moved was Caveman, sitting in the corner, just as isolated from everyone as X-Ray himself.

Caveman was the newest addition to their haphazard family, one that X-Ray couldn't figure out. Yet his look of pain that registered clearly on his grimy face was as real as anyone else's. He cared about Squid.

Everyone in the room cared. X-Ray just hoped that was enough to save him.

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	8. Stanley

_**I don't own them.**_

_While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, he howls to the moo-oon if only, if only._

Stanley wrapped his arms around himself, as if manually trying to keep the tears from falling. Under his breath he whispered the old tune his father had often sung, repeating over and over again, _if only, if only. If only, if only_. If only he hadn't been sent to Green Lake. If only he hadn't known any of these boys that had somehow wormed their way into his heart. If only Squid hadn't stepped on that stupid snake.

He had only been here for a month. A solid month of abuse from these boys, and yet...

And yet they were still...they weren't...they weren't bad kids, like everyone thought. He'd only caught snapshots from their pasts, little bits they let slip, but from what he'd heard, none of them had had it easy before coming to Camp Green Lake. Like Armpit, whose brother was in jail, or Zero, who'd been living on the streets. He didn't approve of some of the things they'd done, of course, but they weren't all bad.

Right now, Stanley felt left out of everything. He stood away from the rest of the group, which seemed to wind around each other. ZigZag was holding the hand of Squid, who's fever still hadn't broken. Armpit had a hand on ZigZag's shoulder, and X-Ray was touching Armpit's arm. Magnet's head rested on X-Ray's shoulder, and Zero's arms were wrapped around Magnet's hand. They formed a loose semi-circle around Squid, watching him, murmuring quiet words to each other, trying to convince themselves that everything was alright. That it was all just a bad dream.

Suddenly Stanley didn't want to be left out anymore. He touched Zero's shoulder, "Is he any different?" he asked the younger boy quietly. Zero shrugged, looking anxious.

"His fever's peaking. It'll break soon." Magnet's voice was quiet, and again no one asked him how he knew this. "We should try to bring it down anyway. Does anyone still have their canteen?"

ZigZag murmured that he did and withdrew it from under his cot. X-Ray ripped his shirt and dipped it in the water before laying it on Squid's sweaty forhead. "We should get him under the shower." X-Ray muttered. "It'll be faster."

"I don't think we should move him." Armpit warned, his huge hand resting for a second on Squid's chest. "Look at him, we could kill him." After he said that he looked stricken and glanced down at ZigZag, "I didn't mean that, Zig, he won't die."

ZigZag losed his eyes and shook his head, trying to calm down his too-fast breathing. Armpit rubbed his shoulder and the boy flinched away from the touch, still breathing too quickly. "He won't die, he wont' die, he won't..." ZigZag's reassurance to himself was soft, and yet it seemed to echo in the small, silent room, a counterpart to Squid's turns and moans.

"Where's that dumb medicine?" Zero burst out angrily. Everyone looked at him. Even under these circumstances Zero's ability to talk seemed surreal.

X-Ray shook his head, "There isn't any medicine, Zero." Behind him, Armpit nodded, "They just told us that. There isn't going to _be_ any medicine. If Squid can't fight this himself he'd dying, simple as that."

Stanley tried to protest, his mind still wrapping itself around the concept of Squid not getting any medicine, "But, that other kid, Barf Bag, he went to a hospital, right?"

It was ZigZag to answered, "Yeah, but Barf Bag had a family that cared if he was alive or not, Squid doesn't." Stanley flinched away from the words. All of this was new to him. How could a family not care whether their kid came back or not? It had to matter to somebody, right? Squid was important to someone, he had to be. He was already important to them.

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	9. Squid

_**I don't own them.**_

_Maybe my __mom'll__ stop dr__inking and my dad will come home_

Squid's blood was on fire. He remembered, vaguely, a biology class he'd taken back when he'd actually cared about school. How your blood kept you alive. If your blood was on fire, would you still be alive?

He almost welcomed death at this point. He had no idea how long he had been tossing and turning on this cot. He didn't remember anything else, except for an almost-remembrance, like a dream. As the fire pumped through his veins again he let out a moan. He hurt all over. All over. Over.

"Squid?"

That voice. So familiar. Squid tried to place it, came up with only two faces. One round and plain, brown eyes, brown hair. Like him. Related to him. Sister maybe? She looked upset, upset with their mother for always either being angry and hitting. Angry at their father for never being there.

The other face was male, long and thin with a long, thin pile of hair that never seemed to stay flat. He had a wide, open smile that was rarely seen behind the closed-off face. And he decided that was who the voice belonged to.

After all, he didn't speak to the Dead.

"Ziggy?"

He didn't know whether it was him speaking or someone else. There seemed nothing, nothing existing outside of the pain. He just wanted to die, right now. He heard screams of delight, but they were fading in and out, like a badly tuned radio with lots of static.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. A cold hand, welcome on his fiery skin. He tried to move his head but moaned in pain, tossing to one side and throwing the cool hand off. There was another yell, this time more cautious, but Squid ignored it. He let himself be pulled out of the hot place, even let himself be taken away from the cool hand.

And suddenly he was eight years old. Vanessa was crying because of...something. She was clutching her teddy bear, now ragged from the many hugs it had received in the six years the girl had been alive. He, Alan (this was long before he was Squid) ran to her and hugged her like she hugged her teddy. "It's okay," he told her, rocking slightly. "I'm here."

He promised he would be there for her.

The scene became cloudy again, and Vanessa's face turned into the tall boy's, ZigZag, on his first day at Camp Green Lake, when he passed out in his hole out of sheer exhaustion. Squid had made the same promise then, that he would be there.

Suddenly, the fire didn't mean much anymore. Something inside of his brain, or his heart, told him that the fire would pass, that he would be left with people who cared for him, people he cared about.

He had to go back. He had to comfort ZigZag and Vanessa. He had to be there for them. He'd promised.

Reaching past the fire, he managed a soft croak. "Ziggy?" The cool hand was back, and it pressed down upon his forearm. Stiffling an urge to either pass out of be violently ill, Squid managed the few words he needed to say.

"It's okay, Zig. I'm here."

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End file.
